Lawn Care Tips

Watering Tips

Many of us want lush, green lawns all year. So watering is an important part of a healthy, green lawn.

It is important to know the advantages & disadvantages of day versus night watering.
Daybreak or just before dawn is the ideal time to water your lawn. Evaporation is at a minimal & the rising sun will quickly dry the grass, reducing the likelihood of disease.

Daytime is also a good time to water your lawn. You can pour on generous amounts and allow it to soak in. The blades of grass dry quickly, minimizing the risk of plant disease. The major disadvantage is this takes more water. Evaporation steals a portion of the water you apply before it can soak in and reach the grass roots.

Nighttime watering or early evening seems like the most convenient time to water our lawns. The major disadvantage of this is the water will not soak into the grass at this time; it will only sit on top of the blades of grass, therefore providing a breeding ground for molds & fungus.

Dog Spots

Your dog can sometimes be unfriendly to your lawn. When your dog urinates on your lawn, the nitrogen in the urine can be so strong that it can and will burn a brown spot in your lawn.

Rake the brown spot really hard, and aerate the area. Then top dress the area with 1/3 seed, soil & sand.

Dew Worms

These are large worms that live several feet below the surface of our soil in our gardens & yards. They ingest the soil extracting nutrients from it and then excrete the rest of it. You may see them on the surface of your lawn for oxygen when it rains, or when the lawn has been watered well.

Some of the soil they eat is clay, and when they excrete the clay it may leave hard lumpy areas on your lawn.
They do not harm you lawn, in fact they naturally aerate your soil for you. Trying to kill them is not only unnecessary, it is impossible.

If you do want to try and rid your lawn of them: Aerate your lawn & then top dress your lawn with sand. 3-5lbs per 1000 sq ft. Do this a couple of times a year. Sand is dry and holds no moisture; the dew worms may try to find a new home elsewhere.

Fertilizing

Fertilizer is an important lawn care practice, as it influences grass color, ability to recover from stress and helps prevent weed invasions and diseases. There are a variety of fertilizer applications. With the exception of "Weed and Feed", it is best to apply them just before a rainfall, as they need to be watered in. Fertilizers with weed killers need to sit on the lawn for a day or two, to allow the weed killer to do its task, and then it should be watered. Never apply "Weed and Feed" just before rain is expected, as you are only harming the environment. How often you apply fertilizer also depends upon the area and climate you live in. The most common is the three or four applications. For lawns, fertilizers containing controlled-release nitrogen sources are suggested for most applications, because they help assure uniform growth and do not readily burn grass.

Mowing Tips

Follow these tips and you will have the lawn that all your neighbors will be envious of.

It is recommended to cut your lawn at 2-3 inches in length, no shorter. You want to make sure that no more than 1/3 of the grass blade length is cut during a single cutting.

Each time you cut alternate the direction of your cuttings, meaning that one week you may cut horizontally the next week you will want to cut vertically.

Make sure that your lawn mower blade is sharp – as this can tear the blades of grass.

Always mow your lawn when it is dry so that you can save some wear & tear on your lawn mower.

Keep the grass from clumping on the lawn; it will help to minimize the spread of lawn disease.